Hello all! Congratulations for making it past Halloween. Isn’t it somehow the busiest time of year? So many parties and dressing up and treat eating….and then comes the gluttony and punishment the next day. After a candy filled night hopefully we can all just agree to move on and think about something else.

What else might you think about?…I have an idea. Read on.

We’re at the very beginning of the Holiday Season. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. I have an opportunity for families or groups to make this time of year even more meaningful.

Many of you are aware of Operation Undies and the efforts all of us have made together to bring much needed socks, underwear and warm clothing to migrant farm working children. With all of your help, I’ve already donated a van load of gently used warm clothing.

I have another opportunity to help. I’ve just received a list of 21 families who could use some help. The things they’re in need of are shockingly basic. Pots and pans, blankets and bedding, shoes, warm clothing. Most of us just couldn’t imagine not having these basic items.

I know there are lots of families around me who want to help but don’t know where to find a family with needs. I promise these aren’t the kind of families who will be asking for anything Nintendo or Apple oriented. These families are just scraping by.

The migrant Headstart preschool I am working with provided me with a list of the families names, sizes and a brief description of the family’s circumstance and what they might need. The families DON’T know that they are being sponsored this way. The needed items listed were compiled by staff at the school who made home visits who discussed and made observations about needed items.

As I read through their list, I sobbed. Most of these families, even the young mothers work in the Cache Valley dairy farms milking cow 12 hours a day often in extreme temperatures. The probably provide the milk your kids drink.

Whether we know it or not, we are unbelievably wealthy and have opportunities available to us that some people could only dream about. These families are working so hard doing jobs most of us wouldn’t consider doing for five seconds. Despite their best efforts they and their children still have dramatic needs.

If you or a group you’re affiliated with would like to be a Sub for Santa to one of these families, please contact me here or leave me a comment below and I’ll be in touch to give you a family name.

If you’d like to help, but don’t think you can do it alone, I promise from my own personal experience, it is NOT hard to recruit help for a project like this. Consider asking your co-workers, extended family, neighborhood, or church group. There are good people everywhere who want to help and just need a reason and specific job to do.

Also note that not all the items donated need to be brand new. Anything in good shape is appreciated. Thanks to all the friends who responded to my last Facebook plea. I’ll be in touch with your assignment shortly.

Another way you can help is by sharing this post on Facebook. About half of the assistance I received on this project last year came from people I didn’t know. The more people that know about this, the more families that will receive help. If you haven’t liked The Vocal Sokol on Facebook, feel free to do so to get updates on this project along with updates about other mostly lame things I’m doing.

My extended family does something similar every Christmas. We’d love to help one of these families.

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